A Mother's Day Gift

Mother's Day is tomorrow. For all the mother's out there use this code DE55Z to get As Snow Falls for half price here through tomorrow. As a proud mother I want to brag a minute on my daughter's talent. She drew both the outside and inside pictures for As Snow Falls.

As Snow Falls is a nostalgic look through one woman's journey through life. She learns after aimless searching what truly matters in life, her husband, son and the beautiful life they build.

Excerpts
     Reese was a mini Cobie in every way, from how he smiled to how he reacted when he became upset. He was so funny to watch when he got mad. When he was a baby, he would burble at us and crawl away and sulk, only to come back for hugs and kisses. When he grew older, he would mumble quietly under his breath and go sit outside and sulk, only to come back in and apologize. When he was a baby, we brought him to work with us. Cobie kept up the mechanic end of the shop and I did the finances. Reese would stay in the office with me when he was a baby, but as he grew more curious he would wander out into the shop, and Cobie would prop him up and explain to him what he was working on. They were inseparable, and Reese admired his father more than any other human alive. He and Cobie spent almost every waking hour together. After Reese started school, Cobie insisted on picking him up from school and bringing him back to the shop with us. I think it was harder on Cobie when Reese started school than it was on me.


A Mother's Worry
     By the time Reese was ten, he could take an engine apart and put it back together. He was

just as clever as his father. Once, when Reese was 11, Cobie went to pick him up from school as usual, but they didn’t come back right away. At first I didn’t worry, because sometimes he would take him to get ice cream, a hamburger, or to see his grandparents, but after three hours I started to worry and panic. My stomach became all knotted up inside, and I couldn’t stay in the shop, so I left. I went home first, but they weren’t there. Next I stopped at my parents’, because sometimes Cobie would bring Reese over there after school, as his grandparents loved to spend time with him, but they weren’t there either. Next I tried Cobie’s parents’ house, but they weren’t home. 
     I drove everywhere I could think of that they might be, and I tried places I didn’t think they would be. They were nowhere to be found. I finally went back to the shop, and there they were with every mechanic in the shop marveling over a heap of metal. To them it was gold. To me it was a frame and body of some long-forgotten, dilapidated piece of ……I ran over to Reese, and I hugged him and yelled at Cobie for not calling to tell me they were OK or where they were—right there in front of everyone. He looked at me like I was insane and walked off. Reese seemed confused at why I was mad at Daddy. He gave me a puzzling look. He didn’t seem to care though. He was so excited because Daddy had bought the heap of metal for him. They were going to rebuild it together. I guess it was some type of male bonding exercise. Cobie and I didn’t speak until later that night, and he apologized. He said this time I was right. He should have called. Reese and his father spent hours on that car. It was their hobby, and they shared it. Sometimes I felt left out.

                                                                           The Grands

     My grandchildren seemed to grow up so quickly. Natalie grew into a beautiful young woman. She was always spontaneous and dramatic, so Nikki had her take dance lessons, voice lessons, and then lessons on various instruments. Natalie was a natural. She decided she wanted to be a performing artist. She wanted to dance and sing on Broadway. She had always performed in school plays, talent shows, and even the community theater. On stage she was radiant and shined as brilliantly as the North Star. She could dance, sing, and play almost any musical instrument. She was perfect for her career choice, and I supported her. I told her to always follow her heart and not be afraid. At one time I had also dreamed of being an actress but, with the loss of Nathan, I had pulled myself away from acting. She also loved my car, and I allowed her to drive me around in it from time to time. She wanted glamour and fame, and my car represented that to her. 

     Jacob had grown into a very handsome young man. The girls adored him. He was quite a lady’s man from an early age. Having an older sister, he was used to the attention he received from her and her friends. They always thought he was adorable, and they mooned all over him. When he was twelve, one of Natalie’s friends, a cute blond girl with bright blue eyes, fair skin, and rosy cheeks, had the biggest crush on him. He had a crush on her as well. He wasn’t shy around girls at all, and when they flirted with him he flirted back. Anyway, Nikki found him and the girl kissing in the backyard one Saturday afternoon. As Reese tells it, Nikki went white as a sheet, her eyes rolled up into her head, and she almost fainted. He had to catch her to keep her from hitting the ground. He thought it was hilarious, but Nikki kept a very close eye on Jacob after that. I don’t think she let him out of her sight for more than thirty seconds at a time. He was a very good-looking boy and charming, and the girls couldn’t keep their hands off him. They chased him everywhere. I knew one day, when he found the right girl, she wouldn’t be chasing him. He would be chasing her.